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In honor of Earth Day, we’re sharing easy ways to make your home more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly! You’ll be surprised how some simple changes can set you and your family on the path to greener living. Did we mention that you’ll be saving money on your energy bill while shrinking your carbon footprint?

Are you ready to make your job greener? Not every business can drastically shrink its impact on the environment by adding solar panels to its property, but even organizations that lease their office space can introduce small changes to make a big difference!

Recently SunBlue Energy’s Operations Manager Laura Waldman traveled to Flint, Michigan, as part of Project845, a group of volunteers from Haverstraw, Spring Valley, and Nyack, who drove to Flint to deliver three trucks full of donated bottled water in response to the Flint water crisis.

Most homeowners already know that solar panel installation can lower their energy bills, but what is the environmental impact of using solar energy, and why was 2015 yet another record-breaking year for solar panel installation? At SunBlue, we share a conviction that not only will the installation of solar panels improve the lives of our clients, but every installation is another step closer to a brighter future.

Once you’ve made the decision to add solar panels to your home, the hardest part of going solar is waiting for your installation to begin. While there’s much to be said for patience, it’s harder to enjoy a gorgeous, sunny day while waiting on a building permit before you can install your solar panel system.

Representatives of four companies who are active in the US solar residential rooftop market had a wide-ranging discussion at a conference hosted by Solar Media in New York in late October 2015 about the different business models in use in that market and how each will fare if the 30% federal tax credit for solar is not extended past 2016. The conversation covered current installation costs, typical capital stacks, the cost of capital, barriers to entry and the potential for margin compression.

The panelists are Sylvain Mansier, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Sungage Financial, Albert Lu, vice president for structured finance and strategy at SolarCity, Jason Cavaliere, vice president for project finance at Sunrun, and Chris Hale, president of SunBlue Energy. The moderator is Keith Martin with Chadbourne in Washington.Read More

SunBlue Energy’s partner profiles highlight businesses that help residents and businesses go green in Westchester, Rockland, New York City and beyond.

Who couldn’t use a little more light in their life? The NYC Daylighting team, located in Rockaway Beach, New York, has been brightening people’s homes (and lives) for over 25 years. We’re proud to be affiliated with NYC Daylighting and their dedication to solar energy and reducing energy consumption.

NYC Daylighting is an official Solatube premier dealer that installs both residential and commercial daylighting systems in New York City, Westchester County, and parts of New Jersey. What’s solatube, you ask? Solatube tubular daylighting devices, or TDDs, are high-performance lighting solutions that bring daylight into interior spaces where traditional skylights and windows simply can’t reach. TDDs, sometimes referred to as sun pipes or tubular skylights, use a capture-transfer delivery process to provide natural light in dark interior spaces. Solatube is an innovative daylighting system that is cost-effective while still being energy-efficient. Read More

We know that if harvested, the energy from sunlight could provide all of the electricity humanity needs. Similarly, there are more than enough resources to go around when we share them. That’s why we hope you’ll join us in collecting clean, gently used coats for families staying at My Sisters’ Place.

My Sisters’ Place works to end violence in intimate relationships and combat the effects of domestic violence and human trafficking on women, men, and children throughout Westchester. The organization provides housing in its emergency shelter for people who are rebuilding their lives after leaving violent situations. Often, there is no time to take more than they can carry, which means re-building from scratch.

As those of us who have been active in the solar industry for some time will tell you (without prompting), now is the best time to go solar (and always has been). How can this possibly be true?

Why Now is the Best Time to Go Solar

If (like me) you don’t happen to have a fully functioning time machine, now will continue to be the best time to go solar: you can’t go back to the past and go solar then anymore. Rebates were higher 2 years ago or even 10 years ago, so you could have gotten more of your solar system paid for by someone else. But, guess what? Solar panels were more expensive then too, so those two facts more or less cancel each other out. If you had gone solar years ago, you likely would have paid more over all for your system, but you also would have been saving on your electric bills in the meantime. In any case, that option is no longer available (unless you get that time machine working). Read More